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Thứ Hai, 21 tháng 3, 2016

The book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" is a
favorite around the world. The characters are popular costumes as well! Here,
two people dress as "The Hatter" and "Alice" during the
Chelsea Flower Show in London, May 2015. (AFP PHOTO)

Expressions from Alice in Wonderland

Hello! From VOA Learning English, this is Words and Their
Stories.

Many expressions that we use in American English come from
movies and books. Today we will explore expressions from Lewis Carroll’s famous
book “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.” This book is better known as “Alice in
Wonderland.”

“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” was published in 1865.
The story is about a young girl falling, falling, falling … for a long time
down a rabbit hole. When she finally lands, she finds herself in a strange
world.

In this strange world are some of the most recognizable
characters in children’s literature. Many of them, and other expressions from
the book, have found their way into American English.

The first character Alice meets is the White Rabbit. The
White Rabbit is not your usual rabbit. First of all, he is wearing a vest and
carrying a pocket watch. He also has somewhere very important to be, he says
over and over.

Running past Alice, he says, “I’m late! I’m late! For a
very important date! No time to say hello goodbye, I’m late, I’m late, I’m
late!”

Alice chases after him, and that is where her adventures
begin.

In English,chasing a
white rabbitmeans to chase the impossible, a fantasy, a dream. In 1967,
the rock band Jefferson Airplane wrote a song called “White Rabbit.” The song
tells of Alice's adventures andhintsthat
drugs are involved.

And if you go chasing rabbitsAnd you know you're
going to fallTell 'em a
hookah-smoking caterpillar

But don’t worry. You need not take drugs. Following the
white rabbit means following an unlikely clue and finding yourself in the
middle of an extraordinarysituation. This situation often
challenges your beliefs and changes your life.

The White Rabbit is so curious, so strange, that Alice
cannot help but to follow him. As she chases after him, she fallsdown the rabbit holeinto
Wonderland.

Likechasing
a white rabbit, these daysto go down the rabbit holedoes not have to mean taking drugs to
change your reality.

Tofall
down the rabbit holecan
mean to enter a confusing situation.

However, usually we
use this expression to mean we got interested in something to the point of
distraction. We lose all track of time. It often happens by accident and is
about something not that meaningful.

With this idiom, you
can add details to further describe what type of rabbit hole you fell into, as
in this example:

"Where have been?
You were supposed to meet me here an hour ago."

"I am so sorry! I
was looking online for some advice on how to get a baby to fall asleep and Ifell into a rabbit hole ofparenting blogs!"

"There are tens
of thousands of those. It’s a wonder you made your way out!"

Going down the rabbit
holecan also mean a strange state of mind.

Later in the story,
Alice is the guest at a tea party – a crazy tea party! There she meets the
March Hare and the Hatter. They give her riddle after riddle. And both seem
truly crazy.

As with many
expressions found in Carroll’s booksmad as a Marchhareappeared
in other places long before the publication of his book.

Hares have long been
thought to behave excitedly in March, which is their mating season.
Scientifically, this may not be true. But to bemad
as a March haremeans
that someone is completely mad, or crazy.

The expressionmad
as a Hatteralso
means to be completely crazy. Of the two,mad as a Hatteris more common. But don’t tell the
March Hare. Who knows how he will react!

Now, we move on to the
Cheshire Cat.Smiling like the Cheshire Catwas a common expression during
Victorian times. Carroll brought this expression to life in his book with the
character the Cheshire Cat. A person who is compared to the Cheshire Cat issneaky,
cunning, mischievous, unpredictable and mysterious.

Near
the end of the story, Alice meets the Queen of Hearts.

The Queen of Hearts is
a foul-temperedmonarch. She is quick
to give the death sentence for the slightest wrongdoing by yelling, “Off with
their heads! Off with their heads!”

A woman who is called
aQueen of Heartsis a control freak.

She is a
self-appointed queen of events. And she is an aggressive woman who tries todominateeverything and everyone around her.

Using expressions from
popular books can add a special flavor to your English. And when used properly,
they also show you have a deeper understanding of the literature and culture of
the English language. So, have fun with them!

And that’s Words and
Their Stories.

I’m Anna Matteo.

I found myself in
Wonderland,Get back on my feet again ...

Anna Matteo wrote this
for VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. The song at the end
if "Almost Alice" by Avril Lavigne and is featured in the movie
"Alice in Wonderland" by Walt Disney Pictures.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

hint–v.to say (something) or give
information about (something) in an indirect way; to suggest

extraordinary–adj.very unusual; very different from what
is normal or customary

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